Neutralization equivalent for carboxylic acids

Procedure:

Weigh 0.2 g (to three significant figures) of the unknown carboxylic acid, and place in a
125-mL Erlenmeyer flask. Dissolve the acid in about 50 mL of water or aqueous ethanol
(the acid need not dissolve completely, because it will dissolve as it is titrated). Titrate
the acid, using a standardized solution of NaOH of known molarity (in the range of 0.1000 M) and a phenolphthalein indicator (2 drops). Note the equivalent point (colorless to pink color).
Record the volume of NaOH used. Duplicate the run.

Calculate the neutralization equivalent (NE) from the equation:

NE = mg of carboxylic acid/molarity of NaOH x mL of NaOH used

The NE is identical to the equivalent weight of the carboxylic acid. If the acid has only
one carboxyl group, the NE and the molecular weight of the acid are identical. If the
acid has more than one carboxyl group, the NE equals the molecular weight of the acid
multiplied by the number of carboxyl groups, that is the equivalent weight. The NE can be used much like a derivative to identify a specific carboxylic acid.

Complication:

Many phenols are acidic enough to behave similarly to carboxylic acids. This is especially true of those substituted with electron-withdrawing groups at the ortho and para ring positions. These phenols, however, can be eliminated by the ferric chloride test or spectroscopy.